Robbery may be motive for killing of Larimer man

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Pittsburgh police are investigating the possibility that robbery could have contributed to the death of a father of three, who was found shot inside a car in Larimer Friday morning.

Leonard Young, 33, was pronounced dead at 8:13 a.m. inside a white Chevrolet Malibu in a parking lot across from his home on Mayflower Street and the Mount Ararat Baptist Church.

Police were called to the area about 8 a.m. Friday, after someone called 911 to report finding Mr. Young, said Sonya Toler, a spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh police.

Mr. Young was in the driver's seat. Police initially thought he had two gunshot wounds -- including one to the neck -- but discovered after they removed his body that there might have been more, Ms. Toler said.

They also discovered that some items were missing. Mr. Young's older sister, Necllya Wilson, said she met with homicide detectives Friday afternoon.

"It was a robbery," she said, adding that police told her they suspect whoever killed her brother also stole his new sneakers.

"Tennis shoes was a big fetish for him," his sister said. "He had the newest sneakers out."

While police examined the crime scene, some in the neighborhood gathered around it and told officers they had heard gunshots about 3 a.m. Police said Friday they did not know of anyone calling 911 to report shots fired in the area around that time.

Ms. Wilson said her brother grew up in Larimer and graduated from Westinghouse High School. She said he spent several years cleaning planes at the Pittsburgh International Airport and was preparing to go back to school to get his certification to work as a pharmacy technician.

She said Mr. Young had multiple sclerosis and was taking medications for it at the time of his death.

Mr. Young, the youngest of three siblings, had three daughters, ages 8, 11 and 14, and they were a large part of his life, his sister said.

"They did everything together," Ms. Wilson said.

She said she and her relatives could not imagine anyone who would want to hurt Mr. Young.

"Everybody loved him," Ms. Wilson said.

Funeral arrangements will be coordinated by Coston Funeral Home in Larimer.

Liz Navratil: lnavratil@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1438 or on Twitter @LizNavratil. First Published April 18, 2014 9:28 AM